Disabling Simple File Sharing on Windows computers

Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, Server 2000, Server 2003 and Server 2008 all allow you to configure Simple File Sharing.

To install Sophos software, Simple File Sharing must be switched off. You can do this in one of three ways:

• In the Control Panel
• In the Registry
• In Group Policies

If, for some reason, it is necessary for you to use Simple File Sharing on your network, you can install computers manually instead. See Sophos Anti-Virus SBE: installing to computers on the network manually or Endpoint Security and Control: installing software manually on networked computers for more details.

What to do

Disable Simple File Sharing:

In the Control Panel
Note: This procedure describes the steps used in Category view.

1. At the taskbar, select Start|Control Panel.
2. In the 'Pick a category' panel, select 'Appearances and themes'. 
3. Click Folder Options|View. 
4. In the 'Advanced Settings' panel, scroll down to 'Use Simple File Sharing', and uncheck the box to disable simple file sharing.

In Group Policies

1. At the taskbar, select Start|Run.
2. In the ‘Open’ field, type gpedit.msc.
3. Navigate to the following policy:
   Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options\Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts.
   
4. In the dropdown box, select Classic: local users authenticate as themselves.

In the Registry

1. Please read this warning about editing the registry [10388].
2. Navigate to the following key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa
   
3. In the Forceguest entry, change the value to 0.

If you tried to install Sophos and it failed because Simple File Sharing was enabled, try the installation again.